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Posted by
Yin & Yang
on 2013-02-01

PUBLIC:

When Marc and Ben decided to start a full venture fund, I was incredibly excited. I knew these guys would shake up the old guard and bring in a fresh approach to the VC business. Early success and reviews indicate that good times were ahead. Marc and Ben were both considerate, quick to respond and respectful of entrepreneurs. However, now that the firm has grown and AH has seen even more success, stardom and its effects have begun to show in the way they conduct business. Graciousness has been replaced by arrogance, timely follow up replaced by long silence. As an entrepreneur who has been funded top VC firms and have returned hundreds of millions to shareholders, I think I qualify to write a critique. My advice to Marc and Ben is to have a long talk with their staffers and make sure they stop drinking the prima donna Kool-Aid and behaving like jack-asses. Nobody likes to be disrespected, and you can be sure that if it keeps up, it will catch up to you. AH is the shiny new VC at the moment, but that can change. Look at what to KPCB and what is currently happening to Benchmark. People want to be treated with respect and that above is what they will remember about your firm.

Emailed Marc twice out of the blue and on the second time, I got a response from Scott Kupor, their "COO". We spoke on the phone, and then he came back quickly after the next partner meeting and said it was too early for them, but I was left feeling that I got a fair hearing and had been listened to.

Posted by
philipph81
on 2010-05-05

PUBLIC:

Well, essentially I just wrote a cold email to Ben. He responded and we're onto the next steps. We are outside of their "strike zone" a bit, but they still offered to have a look. Talked to Scott, and we're waiting word, as they meet on Mondays to pre-screen for face-to-faces. Really, really nice guys. And if you know anything about the lore of the valley, these guys are Titans and heroes. I was a bit like a kid talking to his favorite sports athletes. The Andreesen process is also streamlined. They have been through growing a company, so they don't want to distract. It seems to be a fast process for seed. In any case, I'd kill to get in with this firm. If you have the chance, I'd say give it a very close look.

Posted by
scottdunlap
on 2010-02-01

PUBLIC:

For what it's worth, I recently had a fellow entrepreneur with multiple term sheets have me look at them and offer some guidance. The AH term sheet was the most entrepreneur-friendly of them all, and was geared towards getting started vs all the ways you might get fucked if you are off track.

It looks to me like it was written by entrepreneurs, which is awesome. I know these guys from their operational days and they are all top notch. If you have a project that is growing, few will know more about the ways it can grow into the stratosphere.

These guys are a class act. We pitched and were given an efficient pass with clear rationale and an invitation to come back after making more progress on their areas of concern. The entire team is sharp -- Not just Ben and Marc. Scott the COO seems like a solid guy as well.

Even though they passed, I must admit Frank was a pleasure to deal with.

I was very impressed by how quickly he was able to grasp
the scope of our software, as manifested by the highly insightful
questions he posed. Even more impressive is the highly professional
manner in which he treated us throughout the process from the initial
contact to the the final decision.

He was friendly, upfront, and incredibly responsive. I wish I could say
the same for other VCs. Frank is definitely a role model for all VCs.

Posted by
apassemard
on 2009-11-13

PUBLIC:

We pitched to Frank Chen yesterday after talking to Ben during an event. Frank as been able to setup a meeting very quickly and we were glad to get the opportunity so fast. As we were pitching Frank kept asking very relevant questions and clarifications on many of the aspects of our business and we realized that we were way to early for the Fund.
Frank was very kind enough in letting us know of that fact quickly and still brought very constructive and positive feedback and guidelines. He offered us to give us a few weeks to refine our pitch and come back when we would be ready.
I left with the impression that Frank was a very serious guy, very smart and willing to help and a good impression about the fund itself too.
Our team has to go back to work, but we enjoyed this meeting very much.

Posted by
Matty
on 2009-10-12

PUBLIC:

We pitched Frank Chen based on a previous relationship with him. He was warm, coached us on how to get our package "ready" for him to present to Ben and Marc, and took a second meeting to help us refine our message. Even brought in some other "experts" in our field (from inside their organization) to provide feedback.
They passed, based on sector, and took a post mortem call to help us get a feel for why/how we could do better. We came away with a feeling that "this is fundable" and that "this is a much-needed solution" but just wasn't in their strike zone. Fair enough. And quick. Friday submission/meeting, and Tuesday response.
These guys are doing venture investing the way it used to be. Real relationships and real help.
Would look forward to pitching them on another idea when/if one comes up that is "in their strike zone." Good guys. Class act. Class organization. Hope they make it. I look forward to working with them one day.